


a whirlpool of emotions

by rhysymmetra



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Athena and Axton are buds, Athena and Janey have a cool holiday home, Axton has PTSD, Axton is also kinda insecure, I just wanted my two favs to be besties, Trans Man Axton, Trans Woman Athena, if gearbox won't do it I WILL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:16:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhysymmetra/pseuds/rhysymmetra
Summary: Athena has an urgent plumbing issue she needs taken care of. Axton is a semi-competent engineer. Cue two very different yet uniquely badass vault hunters getting some well-needed bonding time.





	a whirlpool of emotions

“I have created a whirlpool.”  
Athena stood on the deck of her and Janey’s summer home on Eden-5. She scuffed her boots against the classy moonstone-glossed tiles beneath her as the voice over the phone laughed for a good minute and a half. He finally caught his breath.  
“Sorry, darlin’. Run that by me again?”  
She sighed and repeated “I have created a whirlpool. I don’t know how to fix this. Janey is going to be home in an hour. Help.” She spoke through her teeth, as she hated asking for help. Especially from Axton.  
The man sighed, as though stretching. She could practically hear the smug look on his face.  
“I didn’t hear a ‘Commando, you’re so awesome and handsome and badass, will you please save me from th-”  
“Axton.” Her ECHO creaked in her hand, signalling she may snap it in two if she held it any tighter. Axton seemed to pick it up from her tone.  
“Good enough. I’m just gettin’ patched up at Zed’s, I’ll hustle over to the fast travel. See you soon, darlin’!”

The ECHO line went dead and she allowed herself a small smile. She spent the next few minutes inside the house, making sure things were neat. Axton was a bandit, always covered in dirt and dust and dried blood and any mix of bodily fluids, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to make it nice and presentable. She gave house tours to anyone who came over, as Janey and her were deeply proud of their decor. She heard some clicking and beeping coming from outside and walked out to check. Sure enough, the commando hit the ground in front of her and shook himself like a dog, sending loose pixels flying everywhere.

“Ugh, hate fast travels. But, you sounded like ya were in a hurry.” He flashed her a feral grin. She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow “I am. Can you help me or not?”  
“Sure, sure.” He held up a satchel with the Dahl logo on it. Athena looked visibly repulsed.  
“Ah, don’t look at me like that. This is the only bag I have. ‘S good quality, too.” He slung it over his shoulder and hopped up to the doorway. “Well, aren’tcha gonna invite me in?”  
“Right, I forgot Dahl bootlickers need permission to enter houses.” She moved aside. Axton frowned “That’s vampires. And I ain’t a ‘bootlicker’.”  
“Not anymore.”

Axton didn’t respond to that, and went to step inside. Athena put a firm hand on his chest to stop him.

“Boots off.”  
“Huh? You get to wear yours.”  
“It’s my house. Besides…” She looked pointedly at his boots, which were completely invisible under a thick layer of mud and what looked like varkid guts. He reluctantly took his boots off and they continued to the back door. She slid it open and Axton let out a whistle as he saw what she meant by ‘whirlpool’. “I see. Not as hard to fix as you’d think, but ya definitely picked the right man for the job.” He flashed her a smile and set his bag down to fetch his tools.  
“Ellie wasn’t available.” Athena replied, deadpan. Axton’s smile faltered for a split second, she noticed, before he let out what sounded like a genuine laugh and stood up, wielding a canister of something and a large wrench. “Keep an eye on the surface for me, will ya? Let me know when it looks like the water’s settled.” He said, staring at the water.  
“Why would I need to let you know? You’re standing right here.”  
“I need to go underwater to fix it. You’d have a better viewpoint, darlin’.”  
“Underwater? I.. I wasn’t aware of that. Uhm. Thing is.. do you think you could…?”  
Athena realised no matter how she said what she needed to say, he’d take it the wrong way. He just looked completely confused.  
“I could what?”  
“Just.. Your clothes are almost as dirty as your boots. And we just had the pool cleaned, so..” She dropped eye contact and hoped he’d take the hint. There was a beat of silence, and then-  
“Well well well…”  
“Axton.”  
“No, just… If I didn’t know any better-”  
“You do know better. I’m gay. And married.”  
“And a total perv.” She hit him in the arm with full force and what had been laughter turned into a hiss of pain.  
“Okay, okay. Turn around.”

She snorted before she could stop herself. “What, you’re shy?”  
“Just.. Can you?” For once he was dead serious and she nodded slowly, backing away and turning around to give him his privacy.  
After a few minutes of vague clothes-being-dropped sounds he began talking again “I ain’t shy. Far from it. Like I said earlier, Zed just patched me up. Took a beatin’ down in Tundra Express.” He huffed out a bitter laugh “He’s a good guy but for all his braggin’, Mordecai ain’t really that much help.”  
Athena nodded understandingly. “I’m still respecting your boundaries, but I’m no stranger to wounds. I’ve definitely seen more blood than you. This isn’t necessary.”  
“Noted. Don’t turn around.”

It was silent beyond that, the odd sound of metal clanging which Athena assumed was Axton assembling his tools. Then a loud splash. She heard things creak from the ground below her. The sound of rushing water became less. Despite herself, she glanced behind her. She couldn’t see Axton properly, but watching him swim confidently from pipe to pipe taking almost no time on each was deeply impressive to her. At one point she watched him hold the wrench in his mouth while he snaked his arm into a pipe. She would’ve assumed it was dangerous, yet he was entirely unfazed. Soon enough, the water settled and became still. Athena was so happy to have the pool installed correctly by the time Janey got home, she felt particularly generous. She stepped forward towards the pool and called out so he could hear her from underwater “You’re so talented!”  
Something clicked underneath her foot. She tensed as the pool lights connected to the pressure pad beneath her foot flipped on. Axton squinted up in confusion, and she saw him clearly in the lights. Scars all over his body, most noticeably under his pectorals. a large gauze rectangle over his shoulder, probably from his most recent exploit. Then the part he’d probably been trying to hide. “DAHL” branded into his left upper arm. He’d been frozen in shock just long enough to let her catch a glimpse, then just as quickly he climbed out of the pool and curled up. Athena stepped off the pressure pad. There was silence again. Axton was facing away from her, and if she hadn’t known better she swore she could see him shaking. “Why’d you turn around?” He spoke softly, in a way Athena hadn’t heard before.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I should have respected your boundaries, I just- I remembered I like seeing Janey work. I wanted to see if how you fix things was different.”  
Axton seemed to relax just slightly.  
“It is, by the way. She’s methodical, but she agonises over things. It takes her days to figure out how to build her own blueprints sometimes. You just go for it. It’s like you don’t have to think. I think that’s very cool. I think you’re very cool.”  
Axton turned his head slightly.  
“Can I get my clothes back?”  
Athena looked at his pile of dirty clothes.  
“You could. Or…”  
“Or?”  
“...You’ve really helped me out today. I really appreciate this. And there’s still time before Janey gets home, so… How about I put your clothes in the washer and start cooking dinner while you take a hot shower? And then when Janey gets back we can all eat together.” 

Axton visibly perked up. Hot showers were an extreme luxury, especially for residents of Pandora like him. Hot meals that weren’t just whatever Pandoran wildlife you managed to hit, even more so. “Might just take you up on that, darlin’.” He spoke again, a smile back on his face. Athena internally breathed a sigh of relief. As obnoxious as Axton was, it was nice he was himself again. Athena picked up a beach towel she’d set up on one of the tanning chairs and held it out to him, her other hand covering her eyes. She waited until he cleared his throat before removing her hand. The towel was wrapped around his waist, and his arms were folded protectively over his chest, one hand reaching over and gripping over the brand on his arm.

Athena realised she should say something. He was talking like himself again, but his posture still told her that he was uncomfortable. “Listen, uh..” Why was this so difficult. She normally had so much to say about those fascist weapon companies and the way they treated their employees. She was practically seeing red. She knew Axton had torn himself apart giving to what Dahl had told him was a worthy cause, and in return they had given him a painful, lifelong reminder of all that he’d lost, for nothing. “This.. they don’t define you. I know. I worked for Atlas before. I worked for Jack before. I still consider myself a good person, because I realised the harm they cause and I did everything I could to undo at least some of it. You should too.”

Axton wouldn’t meet her eye, so she reached out with the tenderness she showed only to Janey and their stray skag pups and she tilted his chin up. “You’re a good person, Axton. You have to forgive yourself. Just never forgive them.” Axton looked at her with stars in his eyes.  
“I ever tell ya you’re my favourite vault hunter? Don’t tell Maya. Or Gaige.”  
They both laughed, Athena playfully patting his cheek before she slid the screen door open and they both stepped inside. “The shower’s upstairs, first door on the right.” Axton nodded and took a step up. “Oh, and Axton?” Athena blocked him with a firm hand on his chest once again, very much noticing his heart rate increasing. She glanced at the scars underneath his pectorals and then looked at him with a smile.  
“Me too, by the way.”


End file.
